AN ANTHOLOGY OF EROTIC POETRY BY MZANSI’S SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

“To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of

life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of
loving to the making of bread”

– James A. Baldwin

“Cleopatra, queen of Egypt in the 1st century B.C., was widely

renowned for her sexual skills. It wasn't even particularly scandalous,
but quite fitting with the prevalent mores. In addition to being queen,
Cleopatra was the High Priestess of Aset, which is another name for
the goddess Isis. Becoming a high priestess had the requirement of
having had sexual intercourse with a thousand different men. That
would normally take a while, but it is said that Cleopatra did so in 10
days. The sacred rituals a priestess would carry out would often
involve sex. One often went to the temple to have sex because it was
seen as life-affirming, and sex was seen as bringing you closer to the
gods.”

This volume aims at celebrating human passion in all its multifaceted manifestations, bringing forward –
creatively – sentiments that affirm love in its many different forms.
It is an attempt at exalting the virtues of beauty in both women and men, and the vital importance of
pursuing free, unconstrained love and its physical and meta-physical pleasures.
The topics a poetry book on eroticism can explore are virtually countless: from the redefinition of
“western-centred” standards of beauty, to the significance of mind attraction; from an appreciation of
homo- and bisexuality, to the shaping of gods and goddesses’ radiant forms within one’s individual “love
cosmology”; from the appearances of the men and women one loves (or longs for), to the nuanced
narration of spicy bed stories…
Even though much of erotic poetry (and literature) deals with physical beauty, contributors are invited to
redefine the canon by suggesting new concepts about love in general. At the same time, they are also
encouraged to reflect upon how pleasurable and rewarding sex can (and should) be, by subtly evoking
vivid sexual imagery. The bottom-line is that all poems submitted must emphasize the magnitude, the
gracefulness, as well as the healing and liberating power of love, in its sensual and/or spiritual
incarnations. And they must appeal to the largest sexual organ: the brain…
Needless to say, no pornographic, homophobic or misogynist text will be taken into consideration for
publication. The editors will evaluate what is to be considered as such, as well as the aptness to the
project of all poems submitted.

This anthology aims at offering a platform to interrogate, imaginatively, love and sexuality(ies) in a con-
text of absolute creative freedom: in fact, when it unfolds at liberty in all its infinite potential, human
affection transcends every possible obstacle and demystifies all stereotyped views on what “true” or
“natural” love and eroticism should be.
As writers, poets, songwriters and wordsmiths we feel that the most exciting way to express the infinitude
of this potential is through words: words that flow into melodies of ardent passion, lust, sensuality and
spiritual complicity…

So let us breathe emotionally and creatively, in order to be open to sexual and erotic candour; let us strip
ourselves bare (literally and figuratively) to make the power of love be the supreme subject of our
metaphorical reflections: if we succeed in doing so, then we have no doubt that this will be truly… an
orgasmic collection 

The editors
dr raphael d’abdon
Myesha Jenkins
Natalia Molebatsi
Notes for contributions

Poems submitted must be original contributions and not be under consideration for any other publication
at the same time.

Contributions must be typed in font Times New Roman, 12 pt, single line spacing.

Each contributor can submit maximum 3 (three) poems.

Poems must be submitted in English.

Each contribution must also include: contact details (email address and phone number); a jpeg picture of
the author; a 5 (five) lines (maximum) biographical note.

If the poems submitted have been previously published in journals, magazines, volumes, etc., the
contributor must include the full bibliographical references of the previous publication in a footnote at the
bottom of the page. Example:

Author: Lodi Matsetela

Title of the poem: “He strums – 340 ml”*
Footnote: *Previously published in: d’Abdon, R. (ed.), I nostri semi – Peo tsa rona. Poeti sudafricani del
post-apartheid, Mangrovie, Napoli, 2007, pp. 222-227.

Contributions must be sent as an attachment to the following email address:

raphael_all@yahoo.it

with the head title: “Submission for erotic poetry anthology”.

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2010.

Contributions which do not adhere to the above listed requirements will not be considered for publication.

PS: Please feel free to forward the present Call for Submissions to your mailing lists and to publish it
wherever you feel suitable.